Literary Terms

A word free from limitations/qualifications.

• Anecdote

• Absolute

• Arugment

• Archetype

A familiar proverb or wise saying.

• Adage

• Analogy

• Alliteration

• Conceit

An argument attacking one’s character rather than their position on an issue.

• Anaphora

• Complex Sentence

• Ad Hominem Argument

• Bathos

A literary work in which character, objects, or actions represent abstractions.

• Climax

• Allusion

• Compound Sentence

• Allegory

The repetition of initial sounds in successive or neighboring words. 

• Colloquialism

• Alliteration

• Analogy

• Balanced Sentence

A reference to something literary, mythological, or historical that the author assumes the reader will recognize.

• Chiasmus

• Allusion

• Aphorism

• Argument

A comparison of two different things that are similar in some way.

• Chiasmus

• Analogy

• Aphorism

• Argument

The repetition of words or phrases at the beginning of consecutive lines or sentences.

• Anaphora

• Absolute

• Ad Hominem Argument

• Anecdote

A brief narrative that focuses on a particular incident or event.

• Adage

• Anecdote

• Antecedent

• Alliteration

The word, phrase, or clause to which a pronoun refers.

• Analogy

• Antecedent

• Anecdote

• Climax